Passengers on an iceberg,
chin-strap penguins (above)
drift in Bransfield Strait near
the Antarctic Peninsula,
secure from theirchief marine
predator,the leopard seal.
Thus the penguins can pick their
own good time to dive (left)for
their chief prey, krill.
Krill occupy the prime spot
on the menus of nearly all
Antarctic creatures:penguins
and other seabirds,seals, fish,
squid, and a reduced
populationof baleen whales.
With the decline of whales as
predators,krill numbers have
increased,benefiting other
species. Marine biologists have
noted increasingpopulations
of southern fur seals, crabeater
seals, and variousspecies of
penguins.
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